It Can't Happen Every Day

Fishing is a recreation in which the angler's success depends upon many variables. Weather, environmental cycles, water tempertures, water clarity, species fished for and a ton of other things affect the fishing. We can't always tear'em up, day in and day out. This weekend was one of the tough ones.
Since the ice went out, pike fishing has been super. The large female northern pike were feeding in the shallow bays. For the past 10 days they have been biting. Yesterday something changed. Most of the large fish would just follow baits up to the boat. All day long this went on. We could see following fish on nearly every cast. Smaller fish might bite but they too where cautious. Why? Most fishing guides are often thought to have a bucket full of excuses why fish don't bite. We know better and I think folks that fish a lot also realize that the excuses are often valid. We were enjoying some of the finest weather I can remember until three nights ago. It snowed. Nights have been cold, the wind has been pretty strong. Before this the weather was stable and mild. These facts slowed the great bite. The fish are in predictable locations but are not feeding. For the last two days we worked very hard, caught some rather ordinary fish but at least we caught something and we must be thankful for what we found. Not every trip can be ultra productive so we should always be greatful for the good ones.
One hightlight of this weekends fishing is that we were able to find some nice smallmouth bass. They are beginning to move into some pre-spawn shallow gravel/rock areas. We caught some beautiful fish in a number of spots. The pattern didn't hold up when the wind and clouds roled in but when the sun was out the smallie were feeding.
I'm finding that the competition for fishing holes is increasing. I feel a type of urgency to fish quickly at times. Rainy is a huge lake but lately so many anglers are pounding away at the same spots. Often I think of a spot and head up to it to discover another boat is on it. If we go to an area, other boats will crowd in on you. I feel that we need to race around the get to productive spots. It sucks. So I have to find more obsure locations. The GPS has damaged the magic of the fishing guide. Angler who once wouldn't dare venture more than a few miles are now capable of crowding the guides who have taken years to educate themselve about a body of water. I'm hoping it doesn't make it an obsolete education. There is no reason to dwell upon it, just find more fish in areas off the beaten path and alway remember what Ghandi said, "Divine guidance often comes when the horizon is blackest".

Some Good Reading

War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning:
By Chris Hedges:
This book change the way I saw wars. It isn't glory or manly. It's terrible. If we don't stop sewing the seeds of the big lies glorifing wars we are perpetuating our own destruction.

The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho:
One of my favorite books. It tells the story of a young man who had the courage to follow his dreams. I will be giving this book to as many young people as I can and I hope it helps them discover there own personal legend.